1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to fluid delivery systems and, more particularly, to a device and method for controllably delivering fluid from a housing to the surrounding environment.
2. Background of the Invention
Devices for delivering fluid from a container have been know in the art for many years. In particular, many of these devices make use of wick based systems. In these systems, one end of a wick is typically placed in the fluid to be delivered, while the other end is either exposed to or in contact with the surrounding environment. These devices make use of capillary action to transport the fluid through the wick for delivery.
While wick and capillary based devices work well in certain applications, these devices lose their effectiveness when the fluid is required to travel too far against gravity. Moreover, because these devices rely on capillary action, it often takes an unacceptable amount of time to deliver the fluid.
Still other devices make use of gravity based systems. These systems typically rely on the force of gravity to deliver fluid from a container. Although these gravity based devices have worked well, they are unable to deliver fluid to points above the fluid level. Moreover, because these devices rely on the force of gravity, they are often incapable of delivering fluid at a rate necessary for certain applications.